Monday, February 27, 2012

Previously, directors who aren't the bank executives were required to own 5,000 shares of common stock. Now, they will have to hold enough shares so that the value exceeds four times the average cash payment they receive for their service as director.

Directors generally receive about $80,000 in cash per year for their service, not counting stock and option awards, according to the bank's most recent proxy statement.

Recently, BB&T's stock has been trading about $30 per share. Under the new rules, a director would have to own about 10,650 shares.

For a director's new number of required shares to fall below the former standards, the stock's price would have to reach about $64 per share. BB&T's stock has never reached $50 per share.

At the bank's all-time high stock price, a director would have to own more than 7,000 shares under the new rules.

Directors will have five years to meet the new requirements, the securities filing says. A number -- but not all -- of them already meet the new standards, according to the proxy statement.

The former 5,000-share requirement was bumped up from 2,500 shares in 2010, and directors were given three years to comply.

Wells Fargo's policy is similar to BB&T's new requirement. Wells requires non-employee directors to own enough shares so that the value exceeds five times their cash compensation. The bank's directors receive an average of roughly $115,000, per the bank's proxy.

Bank of America's stock ownership requirements for non-employee directors require only that directors not sell any of their restricted stock awards, except for sales needed to pay taxes on the award, until they end their tenure on the board, according to the Charlotte bank's most recent proxy.